


Tattooed Angel

by F1_rabbit



Series: Tattooed Angel [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Firefighters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 08:49:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3685899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An angel is sent down to Earth to help stop an escaped demon from killing again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallen from Heaven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Madleane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madleane/gifts).



> Madleane has drawn the most beautiful picture of Kevin as an angel! You should check it out [here](http://madleane.tumblr.com/post/120614763243/afireiswoken-f1rabbit-madleane) :D

"You look great today."

"You're really good at this."

"That would be amazing."

"You should tell them how much you love them."

Angels are all around us, unseen by human eyes. They whisper to us kind and loving words that become the stray thoughts that make you feel better about yourself, reach out to a loved one or help a fellow human being. They're the sparks of inspiration for writers and artists. They're hope when things seem hopeless.

It has to be this way. If we could see them; if they could fully interact with us it would take away our free will. Occasionally angels can come down in a human body but not to interfere in human choices, for keeping the balance between angels and demons, and they can only do it if it is approved by a higher power.

 

"Karael, Raguel is looking for you." Karael's excited about this; Raguel is the one in charge of who goes down to Earth. This can only mean one thing, there's a demon on the loose.

"…this job used to be so much easier," Raguel says to no-one in particular as Karael enters the room. His accent makes him sound more amused than annoyed but he's right. In the olden days angels could just go down to Earth, as long as people could see them and interact with them that was enough proof that they were 'real'. Now, there's so much paperwork required just to prove that you're human. It's not like humans have changed, they're still flesh and bone, but now you have to justify your existence. Endless bits of paperwork and computer records so that they can go down and work without being detained by the police. In fact a few demons have got away because the angels sent to deal with them ended up in jail and _I'm here to protect the Earth from demons_ has never yet successfully got an angel released from police custody.

"This is the new you," Raguel says to Karael. He eyes it suspiciously. It's a thin piece of plastic and a tiny book which looks like it's leather-bound. Both have a picture of his 'human' face and the name 'Kevin Magnussen'.

"It's your drivers licence and passport," Raguel explains. "They're what the humans use to identify each other now," and Karael thinks _has it really been that long since I was last on Earth?_ Some of the other angels are down and up all the time, but he's only called on when his special set of skills are needed and, thankfully for the human race, it's not too often.

"So what do I have to do?" Karael asks, eyebrow raised, and there's mischief in his voice.

*****

Karael is wandering around the streets; he looks like an average person, jeans, hoodie, trainers. The world has changed so much but there's no time to take it in, he's on a mission. Now he has to get the information and then he'll find the demon and kill it but first he has to meet up with the alliance of angels here on Earth

**Heavenly Cakes**

Karael rolls his eyes at the choice of location. I guess this is the closest thing to having a sign saying _angels meet here_. Things really have changed a lot since he was last here on Earth, they used to meet in churches, unsurprisingly, but there doesn't seem to be as many of them around any more.

Once Karael's inside he sees the angels he's meant to meet up with, Duma and Dumah. They're dressed in matching clothes and seem to have identical grins.

"Duma, Dumah, it is good to see you again," Karael says, the tone of voice reverent, it's out of place, no human speaks like that anymore. They both look around suspiciously, before introducing themselves properly.

"Down here it's Dan, mate, and Dany," Duma says, and Karael giggles, Raguel really has a strange sense of humour. Although it's fitting that they have similar names, they're actually very similar in temperament as well.

"You're going to have to use your human name as well," Dumah, _Dany_ says.

"Kev-in," Karael says, and it sounds so odd in his mind but he'll get used to it and when he gets back home his angel name will sound odd for a while too. However all these musings are not getting him any closer to finding the demon. "What do we know about this demon, Dum….Dan?" he says, chiding himself for nearly using _Dan's_ angel name.

"The demon Furfur," Dan says showing him a picture of a scruffy looking human. "He's killed two that we know of, probably more, and we have no idea why he's doing it." He pushes a few photos of crime scenes over to Kevin. Dan's no stranger to senseless violence, in fact it comes with the job, but these still make him shudder. Both pictures show a badly beaten human, with the mark of Furfur scratched into them.

"Probably annoyed about his name." Dany lets out a snort of laughter, before pulling himself together. He's got a point, it's really quite a silly name for a demon, doesn't strike fear or terror into the hearts of his enemies. It would be a fitting name for a cat maybe but not a demon escaped from hell.

"We've yet to find if he has a human identity," Dan says, with a side glance at Dany, his childish sense of humour both adorable and infuriating in equal measure. "But we've collected a lot of evidence at the sites of his attacks, hopefully that will get us something useful".

"Very impressive information gathering," Kevin says appreciatively "how did you find it all so quickly?" he asks. What he's not expecting is the laughter that his comment gets.

"Mate, we're police officers," Dan says, pointing at their matching clothing, "It's our job here on Earth to investigate these things!"

"For people," Dany adds, "But this one is going to need your help, no humans can know what's really going on".

"We'll keep you in the loop ok?" Dan says, but Kevin just looks puzzled. "We'll tell you when we get any new information, all right."

"That would be good," Kevin replies. Dan hands him a smartphone and a set of keys for their flat, which they share with another angel working down here. Kevin quickly works out how to use the phone; he always was a quick learner. It's why he's so good at what he does. The phone has not only the location of the flat programmed in but also the locations of the two attacks. He'll check them out first.

*****

The first location is an alley behind a bar, there's no trace of what happened left here. Kevin brings up the photos Dan and Dany have put on the phone for him, it shows a young man, no older than twenty-five. His pale blond hair is matted with blood; he's been horrifically beaten, humans would assume that he'd been attacked with a weapon but Kevin knows how strong demons are. Kevin doesn't notice that there's another man lurking in the alley, watching him.

When Kevin's sure that there are no other clues to be found, he opens the map and makes his way to the second crime scene. This time the attack was in a flat, another young blond man, beaten in a similar way to the previous victim. The place is empty; he got in through a conveniently unlocked window, Dan or Dany must have thought ahead on that one. Inside it's small but tidy, lots of things covering the walls, mainly plastic books with another circle of plastic inside it. He's curious but it's not why he's here, the only thing that matters is what traces the demon left and finding him before he kills again.

The flat has been sealed since the attack and it smells of demon; faint hints of sulphur and brimstone, the stench of hell. There are still traces of blood on the floor, but the rest of the flat is undisturbed, poor guy never stood a chance against the demon. Kevin wonders what it must be like to be so fragile, to get hurt, to know that it could all be taken away from them at any moment. He's literally been to hell and back and he's not sure he'd be able to cope with mortality.

Kevin takes a few photos on the phone. It's quite a handy little thing, he marvels, but then he hears footsteps outside the flat and takes this as his cue to leave. From what Dan and Dany told him he probably doesn't want to waste any time explaining why he's here. Although they did heavily insinuate that if he should get picked up by the police they'll be able to 'smooth' it over.

Once he's back on the street he sees another man, idly fidgeting with his glasses, standing by a parked car. The man's reading something but Kevin doesn't see what. He must just be waiting for someone, Kevin thinks, before setting off toward Dan and Dany's flat. It doesn't even cross his mind that he's being watched.

*****

Kevin's trying to get the door to open, when it is opened from the inside by a familiar face. "Marmaroth?"

"It's Marcus now," he replies with a smile, while ushering Kevin into the flat. Marcus shows Kevin around the flat, it's a small place and he shows him to the bunk bed that he'll be sleeping on. In all his time spent on Earth Kevin's never got used to all the things that he has to do to take care of his human body, sleeping, eating, he's amazed that humans get anything done at all. While he's thinking about all this his stomach grumbles loudly.

"When did you last eat?" asks Marcus, mostly concern in his voice but also some amusement. The great Karael; can bring down a thirty foot demon without any fuss but forgets to feed his human body. It's really common with the new arrivals, but Kevin's been doing this long enough that he should remember.

While Marcus makes food Kevin looks over all the information he has about the demon, trying to work out why these two have been targeted and who might be next. Apart from their physical appearance there's no obvious link between the two victims. It's not enough data but he doesn't want there to be another killing and given the time between the previous two attacks he's not got long.

Little does he know, that across the city another man is sitting trying to work out the same thing. They have the same collection of pictures and information spread out in a similarly haphazard manner across their desk. He's not a police officer, although there are a few of those working on this case right now, but an investigative journalist. In fact today he visited both the crime scenes and was surprised to see a strange blond guy snooping about, average height, quite distinctive tattoos poking out from under his clothing, odd manner. He wants to say he's a private detective or one of these true crime writers; both are quite secretive by nature, comes with the territory, but that doesn't quite fit. Usually he's a good judge of people but he can't quite figure out this guy.

As he's puzzling over the mystery man one of the interns approach with some papers.

"Hulk, er, sorry, Nico," the intern mumbles, Nico's staring at him intently; it looks even more menacing because he's peering over his glasses, like a disappointed librarian. Not only does he not like being called Hulk but he's not really one for small talk. He's a firm believer in saying what needs to be said, hence the career choice. However he feels a little bit guilty for making the intern feel awkward, not enough to apologise, but just enough not to snap at them.

"What do you want?" Nico asks. He looks back at all the papers on the desk, hoping that it'll put the intern at ease and they'll get to the point.

"The fingerprints you took from the crime scene, there's no match in the system." Nico looks disappointed; he was hoping the mystery man would give him some new information, another piece of the puzzle. After he watched them leave the crime scene he went and lifted their fingerprints from the window they climbed through. He's got a contact within the police department who helps him out from time to time in return for using some of Nico's contacts that he's made over the years. Nico would love it if he was the killer returning to the scene of the crime, it would make his career if he helped catch a killer, but he doesn't get that vibe from them. However he definitely wants to find out why they're interested in these crimes.


	2. To Make the World...

There are four angels in human form eating dinner, it sounds like the set up for a corny joke but if they could see the disturbing pictures of violent crimes and historical textbooks covering the table, they'd know it was no laughing matter. They're studying the demon's previous 'incidents' in a hope that they can find him before anymore humans get hurt.

Marcus makes his excuses and goes to leave for work; he's working the nightshift for his human job as a firefighter, it's no surprise that angels who have long-term assignments on Earth seem to be naturally suited to jobs protecting humans. Dan and Dany are both police officers, which is not only good for people but also for sorting out any problems visiting angels have with modern law enforcement. Kevin's never had time to have a human job with his assignments; demon hunting is a full-time job in and of itself. Dany jokes that he should tell people he's an art student, Kevin laughs politely, he doesn't get the joke but assumes that they must have a lot of free time.

"There's no pattern to any of his previous killing sprees," Dan says wistfully, "All we can tell is that he likes killing."

"He tends to come up when there are major wars on, so he can kill without being noticed," Dany adds, but there's always a war somewhere on Earth, it's not really a useful bit of information. Also with the increased population in cities it's easier to kill without being caught, there's so many things for the police to investigate that it's hard for them to keep up.

They discuss what Furfur's next step could be but ultimately they just don't have enough information about the demon's plans. He normally kills just for the sake of killing, which means anyone could be his next target.

Dan and Dany have to be up early for work so they reluctantly head to bed, leaving Kevin reading through old books hoping, praying, that something will jump out at him. He yawns and remembers that he has to rest his human body, such an inconvenience. As he staggers to bed he walks past Dan and Dany's room; they're curled up in each other's wings, sleeping blissfully. Technically they're not meant to have their wings on display when they're on Earth but there's something comforting about being embraced in another angel's wings, something intimate. Kevin's never had anything like that, demon hunting seems to get in the way of everything else, but he's got all of eternity to find someone special and only a few days to stop a demon, so these things will just have to wait.

*****

The sound of a demon squawking wakes Kevin from his sleep, his heart's pounding and he's looking around the room frantically for any sign of danger. He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees the phone flashing; he's still not used to the sound of it. There's a picture of Dan and his grin on the screen, but when he answers the phone it's Dany that speaks.

"There's been another attack, I've sent the location to your phone," he says quietly. Wise, Kevin thinks, can't let the humans know about this, they'll only panic.

"I'll see you there," Kevin says, and with that he's pulling on some clothes, another human inconvenience, and rushing out the door.

 

Nico's heard on the scanner that there's been another attack, he's rushing across there now. Often there's nothing to be learned that he couldn't get from the police press release but sometimes just being there, seeing people's reactions, is invaluable.

The crime scene is a fairly average looking end terrace, relatively new car in the driveway but nothing too showy. This is a nice neighbourhood with a low number of violent crimes. So it's a shock to see it swarming with emergency vehicles, surrounding the property and the ever-growing crowd of people gathering to see what has happened.

Kevin's slinking through the crowd, he's used to sneaking about unnoticed by human eyes. He's heading towards Dany but he knows that they'll not be able to talk openly here. As he gets closer Dany walks towards his police car and nods for Kevin to follow him.

Nico spots the same blond man he saw at the other two crime scenes and resists the urge to run over to him, instead he hangs back and watches as he walks across to one of the police cars. He follows slowly and positions himself nearby, he's able to see them but not hear them, which is not ideal but their body language is telling an interesting story.

"So is it definitely Furfur?" Kevin asks, hoping it'll be a false start, not that a death for any reason isn't still sad but a preventable demon killing, that weighs on his soul.

"Yes," Dany replies. He takes his phone out and shows Kevin a picture of the mark on the body. It's unmistakably Furfur's mark; the victim also seems to confirm the pattern, a young blond male beaten to death.

"I need to see where the attack took place," Kevin says and Dany rolls his eyes in exasperation.

When Dany sees that Kevin's not going to take no for an answer, he gets a few things out of the car. As he hands Kevin some blue cloth and a small briefcase, he leans in close and whispers to Kevin, "Stick near me and don't speak to anyone," before walking back towards the crime scene, Kevin following like a shadow.

Nico watches all this expectantly, the blond guy clearly knows a police officer but that doesn't rule out private investigator or true crime writer. He's showing him something on his phone probably pictures from the crime scene, he guesses. Why would the police be discussing an open case with the blond man? Are they covering up gang killings? It would explain why the previous bodies had the same strange mark on them (he'd overheard that little nugget of information at the last crime scene, some police officers need to learn to whisper, but it did allow him to find more possible victims). But then he's giving him forensic equipment? And taking him in to see the body? It just doesn't add up. As Nico's taking some pictures of the police wandering in and out, he decides that he has to know what the blond man's involvement in all of this is, and that when he comes out he'll follow him. Nico has a feeling that he's the missing piece of the puzzle.

 

Inside Dany is watching Kevin like an anxious parent watches a small child, eyes darting around looking for danger, paranoia lurking just below the calm exterior. Kevin's put on the shoe covers and is holding the small forensic kit like he's been doing this his whole life. It's remarkable considering the last time he was on Earth leeches passed as cutting-edge medical technology.

Kevin's prodding things with a swab like a pro and Dany's taking photos of the things he points at. Dany will copy the memory card on the way back to the station and tonight they can try and figure this out together. When Dan comes in he almost does a double take when he sees that Dany's snuck Kevin in but the confusion only shows for a split second. Dan walks over to speak to Dany; he whispers into his ear that they're wrapping up here and heading out to a major traffic accident. They look at Kevin; he knows that it's his cue to leave, without them he risks unnecessary hassle and he's got everything from the body and the scene that might be useful. It's now just a case of working out how it all fits together.

"Do you want a lift? In the car?" Dany asks, he's not sure Kevin understands all of the words he's using but him and Dan have been down here that long that they've forgotten how people used to talk hundreds of years ago. It makes him feel more human than angel sometimes but he's here to do a job and part of that involves fitting in.

"No, thank you. Furfur's scent is still strong, I'm going to try tracking him, see if it leads to anything useful," Kevin says, and with that he's off wandering down a small street behind the house.

He's a few streets over when the scent starts to thin out and when he reaches a junction there's no way to tell which direction the demon went in. Kevin gets his phone out to get the map but he catches sight of a man out the corner of his eye. It's a familiar face which, considering he's been here on Earth for just over a day, means he must have seen them recently. He casts his mind back to the man waiting by the car yesterday, at the site of the second attack - tall and blond with glasses, didn't seem to be a threat. _But what is he doing here?_ There's nothing really here, it's not somewhere you'd end up by accident. _So is he following him? But why would anyone be following him?_ Unless he's one of Furfur's minions…

Kevin flies into action, some angels may be all delicate and peace loving but he's not one of them, he's got a good grip on the taller man and has managed to swiftly get him on his knees with one arm twisted painfully behind him. He's pinned in such a way that Kevin can lean over him and hiss into his ear, "who are you?"

"I'm an investigative journalist. Nico, Nico Hülkenberg," he says, and there's no trace of fear in his voice. Nico's been in worse situations than this while pursuing a story. He once spent four weeks undercover as part of an article on a local white supremacist group, it was terrifying but worth it to have the truth exposed. People were horrified to learn how many 'normal' people were involved in the group. He got a lot of hate after the article was published but it's all but died down now, it was a few years ago now. Although from what Nico's seen of this guy, even with the blond hair and tattoos, he's not one of them.

"I guess I should ask who _you_ are?" Nico asks. His voice is completely level even though Kevin is trying to rip one of his arms out of its socket. Kevin's strangely impressed, not many humans are calm in the face of danger.

Kevin says nothing but relaxes his grip on Nico's arm slightly. He's far too calm to be a demon's minion; they'd have tried to attack him already, patience is not high on their list of virtues. The word journalist floats through his mind, they're the ones that tell the truth, Kevin thinks. _If he's not here to kill him, is he hunting Furfur too?_ But he's a mortal, they have no way of tracking a demon and definitely no way to actually banish a demon back to hell should they find one.

He's roused out of his thoughts by Nico asking, "Who are you?" for a second time. Kevin thinks about telling him he's an art student, but something about Dany's joking tone when he said it means it probably isn't suitable here.

There should be no way he can use Kevin's human name to find out anything useful about him, Raguel had told him all about their computer systems before he'd come down to Earth. "I'm Kevin. Magnussen," he says.

"Nice to meet you," Nico says, the sarcasm thick, "Any chance that you're going to let go of my arm?"

"First, why are you following me?" Kevin asks, all angelic sincerity.

"You've been at all the crime scenes, you're trying to find this serial killer too, aren't you?" Nico asks. The words _are you the serial killer?_ left unsaid, although his normally excellent judge of character is drawing a blank on Kevin. However he's ruled out true crime writer, they don't tend to be able to handle themselves in a fight. So that leaves private investigator, maybe ex-police?

Kevin finally lets go of Nico's arm. He thinks it's a human that's committing all these crimes, so he's not a threat to him. Nico has no clue about angels and demons, which is the way it should be, humans would be terrified if they knew the truth.

Nico's viciously rubbing his arm trying to coax the blood back into the limb, although as the blood returns so do the shooting pains. He doesn't grimace, there's no way he's letting this guy see him in pain. As Nico gets to his feet he realises just how short his attacker, Kevin, is. However Nico puts his injured pride behind him. He knows that Kevin has more information about the serial killer and also links to the police, both of which will be useful to him.

Kevin's thinking how to get out of this situation without arousing any more suspicion when Nico asks a question.

"So, are you a private investigator?" he asks. Kevin's weighing up the pros and cons of saying yes. On one hand it's the perfect explanation as to why he's here, in fact it's almost the truth, but would it lead to more questions and would he be able to answer them? He doesn't have any better options so he says 'yes'. 

"If you like, we could swap notes on the serial killer?" Nico says, and there's charm in his voice. He's used to having to turn it on instantly, take advantage of any situation. It doesn't matter that he was manhandled by Kevin only minutes ago, if he's useful then he's an ally. Kevin nods, he'll have to leave a lot of information out, but it'll be interesting to see what Nico has found out.

"My car's not too far from here, everything's at my office." And with that Nico's leading the way back to his car. Kevin follows, keeping a safe distance, Nico may not be a threat but it doesn't mean that he's not leading him into a trap.

 

Once they're in the car Kevin watches Nico put on his seatbelt and copies his actions. Nico waits patiently until he hears the 'click' of Kevin being strapped in before starting the car. It's only a short journey to Nico's office and Kevin spends the entire time trying to watch everything whizzing past them, like a puppy on its way to the park. If the window had been open he'd have probably stuck his head out just to see better.

Nico's office overlooks the water, it's a grand old building, and it's eerily quiet on the street even though it's the middle of the day. Inside the office there are people everywhere, the noise echoes strangely around the large open plan office. Nico watches Kevin size up the place as they walk through, as though he's looking for threats or planning escape routes; which is actually what Kevin is doing. This new information means that his guess of ex-police officer was close but Kevin's probably ex-military.

He offers Kevin a chair. Nico's desk is covered in papers to do with the serial killer along with a collection of empty pizza boxes and unwashed mugs. It almost looks like he lives here, which is not really that far from the truth. Nico feels a little awkward letting Kevin see this but he has no idea how similar their lives actually are.

"How do you take your coffee?" Nico asks charmingly and Kevin tries to think back. Coffee, it's what Dan and Dany had when he met them yesterday. With milk and sugar…

"Milk and sugar?" Kevin says and it comes out sounding like a question, he hopes it's a suitable answer. Although for trivial questions 'just joking' and a big grin seems to explain away most incorrect answers.

When Nico returns with the coffee he hands both the cups to Kevin before preceding to clear his desk quickly before walking off with nine cups, carefully balanced in his big hands. Kevin peers at the papers on the desk; impressed at the amount of information Nico has put together about the serial killer, apart from the fact that it's a demon that's doing all this. Once Nico's settled into his chair he brings up all the information he has about the killer on his computer.

Kevin's slowly sipping his coffee, it's tolerable but he's not quite sure he likes it, as Nico shows him an almost endless stream of badly beaten corpses and strange marks. If Nico's correct today's kill brings the total number that Furfur has killed to five, rather than the three that the police know about. The other two victims were killed elsewhere and the police are yet to link them, but they definitely have Furfur's mark.

"The only thing the victims have in common is their appearance," Nico says, giving Kevin an odd look. "Average height, blond hair, tattoos," he adds, as he drags his eyes over the full length of Kevin. It's almost sexual but it's completely lost on Kevin. "I can see why you'd want to find this guy," Nico says mockingly.

Kevin smirks and shows him the photo of Furfur in his human form, it's grainy, taken from a cctv camera outside one of the crime scenes. Nico looks puzzled, the official police line is that they don’t know who's committing the crimes and they're still looking for an as yet unidentified person. Dan and Dany only found it because they knew what they were looking for, humans would just see a tattoo, but angels, even in human form, can see the mark of a demon. However he was just one of many 'people' in the area when the victim was killed and no-one has time to question them all. They were unable to find a human identity for him from the photo and they don't even know if Furfur would have bothered to make one up.

"He's been seen at all the crime scenes," Kevin lies effortlessly. It seems the most likely explanation for why he has this information and the police don't. Nico nods in agreement, usually those that go visiting the sites of killings are either investigating the killing, reporting on the killing or the killer.

"I don't know if he's the killer or he knows the killer somehow but I'd like to find him and _speak_ to him," Kevin adds. Although when he says speak he means banish back to hell but Nico doesn't need to know about any of that.

"Can I keep this?" Nico asks, nodding at the photo.

"Sure," Kevin replies, he's got a copy of it on his phone. Also it's forever ingrained into his mind now. It will remain there until he manages to banish Furfur.

"I'll try with my contacts here and where the other two killings were. See if anyone knows who he is. If I find anything I'll call you, ok?" Nico says with a big grin, he's excited to have a new lead, a chance to make his mark again. He hands Kevin a card with his number on and walks him out of the building, flashing Kevin his most genuine smile as he walks off.

Nico hurries back to his desk and grabs his coat; he's in the car and carefully following Kevin before he's managed to walk too far. He's certain that Kevin's got a lot more information on the case and he's going to find out what it is.

*****

Kevin wanders back into the flat, armed with new information about Furfur's movements on Earth. The last thing he expects to see is Dan pinned against the wall by Dany, they're both naked, wings out, their passionate moans covering the sound of the door.

He tries not to watch them as he makes a beeline for the bedroom but fails. There are hands and wings everywhere. Dany's beautifully white wings are running through Dan's jet black hair as he sucks on Dany's fingers, eyes screwed shut in pleasure. Dan's arms are limp by his side but his wings are stroking their way down Dany's back until they reach his ass, tentatively exploring, pushing into him as the screams reach a deafening level.

Kevin ducks into the room to find Marcus looking over all the information they have on Furfur. Marcus looks remarkably unaffected by the noise of Dan and Dany, it must be a common occurrence. Kevin just stares at him, he wants to ask a lot of questions, but it's not the time. He's got work to do.

"They've been at it for an hour," Marcus says with a shrug. Kevin's not sure if he's just used to it or if he's genuinely indifferent, although it doesn't really matter. Marcus offers him some pizza and his stomach growls loudly at the thought of food. "Have you eaten today?" he asks, full of concern.

"I had a coffee," Kevin says, and he knows it's not enough to feed his human body. He wolfs down the pizza while Marcus tells him about his day, they had a bad fire at one of the blocks of flats but everyone got out with just a few minor injuries.

Kevin tells him about Nico and that he'd found another couple of bodies with the mark in another city. Five victims, sadly, are enough to see a pattern. The only pattern is how they look, blond, average height, tattoos… He remembers what Nico said about him being worried about the killer, his human face does look like he could be one of the victims.

Something clicks in Kevin's mind, something he read last night in one of the history books. He dashes through to the kitchen to retrieve it, the flat now silent; Dan and Dany are curled up on the floor in each other's wings, resting.

He's just about to pick up the book when he hears something outside the window.

*****

Nico's followed Kevin all the way back to Dan and Dany's flat. He's not sure what he expected, but this looks completely ordinary. He parks his car on a nearby street and walks back to the flat. Once he's there he wanders around the side of the building so that he can look through the window, see if he can get any sense of why Kevin's looking into this killer.

He's seen a lot of strange things with his line of work but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of two angels, wings on display, having sex in the living room. Nico tries to rationalise it, they must be costumes, some sort of role play game but the more he watches the more convinced he is that they're not fake. The way the wings move, like extra arms groping about, it's hypnotic to watch. He gets his camera out and sets it to record, following them as they climax and settle down on the floor in each other's wings. The look on his face started as pure terror but has now morphed into fascination.

Kevin wanders back through into the large combined living room and kitchen that's so common in flats. Nico instinctively drops down to hide below the window ledge, there's only one way out of this lane by the side of the flat and that's past the front door. Thankfully there's bins to hide behind because he'd rather not explain why he's here or what he's just seen to anyone.

He sits for what feels like an eternity, crouched behind some bins, listening intently like a small animal waiting for its predator, until his heart rate starts to calm down. That's when he hears footsteps.

"Hi," Marcus says, with more amusement that anger. When Kevin told him about the noise he thought he was going to find a fox trying to go through the bins again. Not a fully grown human.

Kevin peers round Marcus to see Nico and almost gasps. "It's you again, did you follow me here?" he asks, and he sounds a lot less impressed at this situation. Nico's unable to respond, his brain's too busy trying to make sense of everything that he's seen tonight.

"You know this guy?" Marcus asks Kevin. He's only been here for a day, although no-one's supposed to know that, so he just shrugs at Kevin as if to say _you can deal with this_.

"Yeah, it's Nico, the journalist I told you about," Kevin says, confusion written all over his face. The situation is getting odder by the minute and he's still not got an answer as to why Nico is here. However doing this in the open where any human could see them is potentially dangerous. They've still no idea if Furfur is aware of their presence on Earth or if he has minions working for him. Nico looks absolutely petrified as he stares at what might be two angels or aliens. Maybe he's just going crazy? None of these options seem to make any sense and although he wants to respond, say something that'll diffuse the situation, he's almost paralysed with fear.

Kevin puts a hand out to pull Nico up but he flinches. So he says, "Come on in, we'll get you a cup of coffee." He then looks directly at Marcus and nods towards the flat; hoping he'll take the hint and get Dan and Dany to put some clothes on or at least put their wings away. It would be disastrous if he saw them like _that_. Marcus jogs back round into the house while Kevin slowly escorts Nico round, as though he were an invalid, and thankfully there's no sign of Dan or Dany when they come in.

Marcus puts the kettle on and Kevin sits Nico down on the sofa, he still hasn't said a word and his eyes are wide with panic.

"So what are you doing here?" Kevin asks gently. He wonders if Furfur has got to Nico, is that why he's so scared? He puts his hand out slowly to rest on Nico's shoulder, hoping to snap him back to reality when Dan and Dany emerge from the bedroom. Kevin doesn't even get a chance to think, _at least they've put their wings away_ and _put some clothes on_ , when Nico starts pointing at them and babbling about angels and wings.

"They had wings," is the first coherent sentence Nico comes out with and the four already panicked angels just stare at each other blankly. Now that Nico seems to have the upper hand in the situation he's regained some of his composure and the power of speech. "What are you guys?" he asks. This is the first time he's felt completely out of his depth, unsure of what he's actually doing here, normally the story keeps him focused but he's not even sure what the story is anymore.

"You're a police officer," Nico says, pointing at Dany. "You were at the crime scene earlier with him," he continues, pointing at Kevin.

Dany sighs loudly and looks to Dan and Marcus who both nod and then he sits on the sofa by Nico. "We're angels sent down from heaven to protect the Earth," he says with a completely monotone voice, hoping if he makes it sound boring enough, ordinary enough, it'll stop Nico freaking out. Although he knows that even if Nico was to run to the police screaming about angels, no-one would take him seriously.

Dan and Marcus have gathered round, Dan's perched on the arm of the sofa behind Dany and Marcus is sitting on the coffee table as there's not really any other seats. They're all waiting patiently for Nico to speak. Hoping he's one of the rare few humans with the ability to cope with the idea that there's something more than them in the universe.

Kevin's staring at Nico. Watching him as he tries to absorb all the information, make some sense of it. Nico on the other hand is back in journalist mode. His logical brain kicks in and thinks, _if they're angels, why are they hunting a serial killer? Unless it's not a human killer? Rogue angel? Satan?_

"You're not looking for a human killer are you?" Nico asks, all the fear finally gone from his voice. He's still working on the story and he'll pursue it no matter where it leads him.

Dany looks at Kevin, it's his mission so it's his call if he wants a human to know about the demon. "It's a demon. The mark on all the bodies is his mark," Kevin says and he's waiting for Nico to run screaming into the street, but he just nods.

"A demon," Nico says; his voice completely emotionless. He takes a minute to work out what he wants to do but the answers obvious, he's never run away from a story and he's not going to start now. For a long time now he's told colleagues that he would literally follow a story to hell and back and now it looks like he might get his chance.

"What can I do to help?"


	3. ...A Better Place

After the angels were sure that Nico wasn't going to run away Marcus went to get food for everyone since Kevin had stolen half his dinner, Dan and Dany hadn't got any food before their 'activities' this evening and Nico's eyes had lit up at the mention of food. Having seen Nico's desk, Kevin was pretty sure that Nico's love of food was probably the only love in his life.

Nico's finishing his third burger as Kevin looks through one of the history books trying to jog his memory, he can feel his mind straining to make the connection, it's on the verge of putting all of this together. However the sight of Nico eating is fascinating and his focus keeps wandering back to Nico's mouth in action. Kevin's mesmerised as Nico pushes his glasses up with the back of his hand, not even stopping to put the burger down.

Dan and Dany are looking through the case files for the two earlier victims, trying to see if there was anything useful left at either of those crime scenes. The lack of seats means that Dany is sitting on Dan's lap, they way they're curled up makes it look like they're reading a love story together, not looking at horrific accounts of violent crimes. Marcus is chewing at his fingers while looking at a map of all the crimes, trying to see if there's a way of finding out where the demon's hiding between kills. Nico's just slowly eating some chips, absently chewing, he can't still be hungry so it must just be for comfort, for some normality.

"Here it is," Kevin says abruptly, they've all been sitting in relative silence pouring over all the information on the killings. He puts the book down flat so that everyone can see it. It's an account of the Battle of Aseren, which happened exactly five hundred years ago, and it was the last time Furfur was here on Earth…

"There was a human battle, it covered Furfur's killings," Dan says to Nico, he's not sure how much of this will make any sense but he feels he should try and explain.

"Furfur?" Nico asks. "That's the demon's name?" He's not sure what he was expecting, maybe Beelzebub or Lucifer, but _Furfur_ doesn't sound very demonic. Nico almost wants to laugh but he catches sight of one of the victims and it knocks all the funny thoughts right out of his head. He rubs his tired eyes, trying not to smudge his glasses in the process and goes back to focussing on the important information. Like why this demon is killing.

"It's probably the reason why he's killing, stuck with a dumb name like that," Dany snorts and Dan looks infuriated all over again at his joke, it wasn't really funny the first time. Marcus just rolls his eyes, Kevin's not sure how he's managed to put up with them for so long. Although seeing them together just looks so right, like they're meant to be.

"So what happened then?" Nico asks, leaving Dan and Dany to glare at each other. He's beyond seeing any of this as odd. He's spent the evening chatting with angels about a demon who's killing here on Earth for some unknown reason.

"He came up to Earth while the battle was on and went on a killing spree, no pattern, men, women, young, old. Didn't matter to him, he just likes killing people," Kevin says sadly, he'll never be able to understand why demons do what they do. All he knows is how to track them and send them back to hell.

"That's when I banished him back to hell. I thought he'd be trapped there forever," Kevin says with remorse. "Looks like this time I'm going have to make sure he's completely destroyed," he doesn't even hesitate to think about it. He knows what must be done.

Banishing a demon back to hell is relatively easy, if you're an angel that is. All you need are a few chemicals combined so that you can open a portal to hell around them, by throwing the chemicals at them, and then let them get sucked back through. It's really quite straightforward. They open portals to heaven all the time to go down and up for work. The hard part is finding the demon to banish. That's where angels like Kevin come in.

Killing a demon, rather than sending it home, is much more complicated. You can attack them but there's no lasting damage to a demon, they are effectively immortal. Kevin's heard rumours about demons being killed but no-one can ever say exactly who or what did it. He's really going to have to find a lot of information very quickly, he can't risk letting the demon get out of hell again.

"So you were here in this exact place, exactly five hundred years ago?" Nico states, not to anyone in particular, he's just thinking out loud. "That would explain why all the victims look like you," he continues, now staring at Kevin, "He's trying to kill you."

 

All the angels are staring at Nico. He wants to say something more but that's all he's got. He doesn't know what the implications of this realisation are.

"If that's true, it means that Furfur knows that you're here," Marcus says solemnly. Also he knows what Kevin looks like, they've met before, but does he know what they look like too? When they come down to Earth they always use the same human form, it's quicker that way, like having a good suit ready at the back of your wardrobe. Names and minor details get altered but most of that's to change with the humans; Valbrandr Thiodolfrson is no longer a suitable human name if you want to go unnoticed.

"He can't know about the flat, otherwise he'd have found us already," Dany says in a completely matter of fact voice. Dan holds him a little bit tighter. They don't have to worry about death, but Furfur could still make them suffer. He could also jeopardise their missions on Earth.

"How would he find out that you're here? On Earth," Nico asks. He wants to ask if there's a database of these things but he's not even sure if heaven has computers. Kevin's thinking about the killings, they started before he got down here but there is no time in heaven, so maybe whoever tipped off Furfur didn't know the exact date he'd been coming down, just that he would be here. Nico notices that the angels are all looking at each other. "What is it?" he says with a look of confusion.

"There's only one angel in charge of who comes down, Raguel," Kevin says with a shake of his head. He can't believe he'd be involved in this.

"I know someone who's meant to be going back tonight, Naaririel, I'll get him to find out what Raguel's told Furfur," Marcus says. None of them can go back until their mission is finished, not without causing a lot of trouble and they don't want any extra attention at the moment.

Marcus heads out to find Naaririel, he wants to make sure they're not in danger as well. Dan and Dany head to bed, it's been a long day for them and they've got the early shift tomorrow. Although the noises coming from the bedroom suggest they didn't go straight to sleep.

Kevin can feel Nico staring at him, so many questions bubbling under the surface. "Ask," Kevin says in his most angelic voice that would make him believe he's one of the good angels who help humans rather than the demon hunter that he is. He expects Nico to ask how old he is (as old as time itself) or what heaven's like (like Earth only with angels rather than humans) but what he actually asks is unusual.

"Can I see your wings?" Nico asks hesitantly, he knows he's not going to get a better chance to see this.

He knows he shouldn't have his wings out on Earth at all and definitely not in front of a human but the way Nico's looking at him, with his bright blue eyes, he just can't refuse him. Kevin slowly inches out his wings so as not to startle Nico, usually they just let them shoot out but it's completely normal at home. Although he really doesn't seem to be the easily shocked type, thankfully, which has made today a lot easier.

Nico's mouth is hanging open. Kevin's wings are a metallic grey colour, not white like he expected, but they're beautiful. He can't help but reach out and touch them. Kevin squirms and Nico snaps his hand back, unsure if he's crossed a line. "Sorry," Kevin says, and he gently runs the tip of his wing along the side of Nico's face. He doesn't really want to admit how good it felt to have Nico touch his wing, to touch Nico.

Yes, he's had demons bite them, try to rip them off, even try to burn them but he's never had anyone gently stroke them. Nico gently nuzzles his head against Kevin's wing; they're just so soft, much softer than they appear. Kevin slowly draws Nico into a big hug, arms and wings enveloping him and he feels all the tension leave his body as Nico melts into him.

 

This is how Dan and Dany find them the next morning, Nico wrapped in Kevin's wings, both sound asleep on the sofa. Kevin had thoughtfully taken Nico's glasses off so that he wouldn't squish them in his sleep. Dan and Dany think about leaving them to sleep it a little longer, it was a late night for everyone, Marcus wasn't back in till nearly four this morning, just to grab his stuff for work before heading straight back out, and they were all still awake then. But this demon's not going to catch itself so Dan puts the coffee on and Dany goes to wake the muddle of limbs and wings that is Kevin and Nico.

"Rise and shine soldier," Dany mocks while gently shaking Kevin. Nico wakes with a jolt and begins scrabbling for his glasses when Kevin grabs them with one wing and passes them to him. He's just glad to have another excuse to touch Kevin's wings. Kevin ignores the odd looks from Dan and Dany, like they can talk, as Nico bolts for the bathroom.

Once Nico's settled at the kitchen table Dan hands him a cup of coffee while flashing his ridiculously large grin. Nico nods in appreciation but doesn't say anything, just grateful for the warm coffee. Kevin watches Nico as he gulps down the coffee, his throat moving in a pleasing manner with each sip of coffee.

"We're leaving in a couple of minutes. There's cereal in the cupboard, milk in the fridge. Would you make sure he eats something," Dany says to Nico, and he looks shocked that Dany's talking to him.

"He's really bad at feeding his human body," Dan elaborates, while giving Kevin a sharp stare.

"Huh," is the only response Nico can come up with. Kevin just shrugs at him; they all seem like ordinary people, with wings, right up until they say things like that and with that Dan and Dany are wandering off to work in their police uniforms. It's going to be one of those days.

Nico sorts them breakfast and they try to work out what they're going to do today. He's got contacts that might be able to trace the demon's human identity but they wouldn't take kindly to him bringing a stranger. Kevin needs to figure out how to destroy a demon, and it's not the sort of thing you can find reliable information about on the internet, so he's heading to an old church that's also a museum. Hopefully there will be something of use there; he's not really got a lot of other options, all he can do is pray that they find something before Furfur kills again.

*****

Nico's contacts come up empty; the demon doesn't appear to have a driver's licence, passport or criminal record. Everyone says they'll call if they get something but he doesn't hold out much hope. He then goes to all the places that a person could be living unnoticed without any id. Known homeless areas, squats, drug dens… by the end of the morning he's seen a lot of short scruffy bearded men but none of them match the photo he has of the demon.

Kevin's being shown around the church, chatting to a priest about angels and demons. Hypothetically of course. If only humans really knew about us, Kevin thinks, that we aren't all sunshine and smiles, although he can do both if the situation calls for it. Like now, he's sweet-talking the priest while stealing, _borrowing_ , three ancient books, in a mixture of Old Norse, Latin, Swedish and Danish. He's got the books stowed away in a satchel and he will return them when he's done with them, he might be ruthless but he's not actually evil. Although he does walk a very fine line sometimes.

*****

The siren is blaring at the fire station, they're being called out to a house fire, probably a smoker fallen asleep with a cigarette, Marcus thinks. As they arrive it's just a standard detached house, which means there's little risk of the fire spreading, but there's thick black smoke billowing from one of the upstairs windows. They all fly into action, everyone knows their job. Marcus is running into the house, he's usually the first one in, the other guys in his team joke that he's got no fear but they've no idea why that is. He's heading upstairs and to the room with the smoke, moving quickly but carefully, floors can be surprisingly flimsy when they're burnt. There's only one person inside but with the all the protective equipment Marcus can't tell if he's unconscious, or worse. Once he's carried him outside Marcus sees not only that he's dead but that he's got Furfur's mark.

The body's waiting to be loaded into an ambulance and Marcus is putting the equipment back into the fire engine when he sees Dan and Dany strolling up. Dany nods to Dan, he goes to speak to the paramedics and Dany strolls across to Marcus.

"What happened?" Dany asks. Marcus tells him everything he knows, which isn't a lot; it appeared to be just a standard house fire, nothing suspicious, no explosion. They won't know more until the investigators have been in. He's not able to give many details about the room the body was found in, the smoke was so thick that he'd found the body by touch rather than sight. However the body fits the demons pattern, but why set fire to the house? He's never bothered before. He sighs, this just keeps getting worse and he's had no word from Naaririel, who was meant to be back down here already.

"It's definitely a pattern," Dan says, shaking his head. "I'll call Kevin and Nico and see if they can meet us at the back of the station."

Dany doesn't ask what he's planning, he knows what he's going to do, sneak Kevin and Nico into the cctv room and let them track Furfur. Sadly the smoke will have obscured the stench of demon so Kevin can't even track him in person. If they wait for the humans to do it there's a chance there will be more deaths before they find his hideout.

*****

Kevin and Nico are an odd sight lurking in the alley behind the police station. They look like they're posing for a photo shoot, casually leaning against the wall. Neither looks like they're about to hunt down a demon and face certain death, although worrying about death has never been an issue for Kevin and Nico's made his peace long ago about dying while pursuing a story.

Dany sticks his head around the door and beckons them into the police station. Thankfully the cctv room is basically a closet at the back of the building so they don't have to pass anyone to get there. Inside there are multiple screens and a couple of computers, there's no windows and the heat is almost unbearable.

"You've got an hour, after that regular guy's due back from lunch," Dany says. He knows the guy who does this quite well, he's just an atrocious timekeeper and then he always goes for a quick smoke before coming back in. So his hour lunch breaks usually nearer ninety minutes at the shortest but it's such a boring job that no-one really cares.

Nico pulls up a map of the area that the house fire was in and starts to check all the cameras leading away from it, luckily it’s a cul-de-sac so there's only one way out but after that there's more and more possible routes. Kevin watched Nico use the computer yesterday, you move the little thing and it moves the pointer on screen and you press the buttons accordingly. It's simple but useful he marvels, it's amazing what the humans have come up with.

They track Furfur through several streets until he starts heading into an industrial estate. It's a large area with relatively few cctv cameras, most companies would have their own rather than ones on the street. He appears to go into an area which has two abandoned factories and he doesn't come out any of the other streets, he has to be hiding there between the attacks.

"Forty-five minutes, impressive," Dany says with admiration in his voice. There's no way him and Dan can go out and check the factories while they're on shift, without someone calling it in first, and they can't explain where they got this information from. He sends Kevin and Nico to go and see what's there but tells them to call it in anonymously if there's any sign of trouble. Although as Kevin points out, he's actually the best man for the job, no human would be able to handle a demon on their own. In fact, even ordinary angels might be a little bit out of their comfort zone destroying a demon.

 

The industrial estate is quiet, a few cars but no people wandering about. It's not really a place anyone would want to walk about. The air smells weird; it's a combination of yeast from the brewery and greasy foods from the array of tiny takeaway places. Kevin can see why Furfur would hide here, there's no-one around to notice him and very few cameras to catch him.

Nico parks his car at one of the nearby factories; parking outside an abandoned one might arouse suspicion. They find a convenient gap in the fence, most are broken or damaged in some way, and slip around the side of the building. The place is eerily quiet apart from the rumble of traffic in the distance. It takes them a while to find a window that isn't boarded up or painted over. When they finally get a peek inside, there's no sign of Furfur but there's a familiar face inside, Naaririel.

"He's gone over to the dark side," Kevin says, completely serious, and Nico sniggers. Kevin just stares at him blankly of course he would have no idea why it's funny. "And Marcus has told him everything, he knows he's helping us, probably knows about you and Dan and Dany as well." He's shaking his head, he can't believe he doubted Raguel, he's always been a good and kind soul.

"So what does that mean? Can we use him to get to the demon?" Nico asks, he's fidgeting anxiously with his glasses but he's ready to go in fighting and take this guy down.

"We'll grab him and take him back to the flat. Find out what he's told Furfur, we need all the information we can get," Kevin says.

"So we’re going to kidnap him?" Nico says and he's not really sure he signed up for this but he's in far too deep to have second thoughts.

"Yes," Kevin says, relieved that Nico doesn't appear to be squeamish about any of this. Anyway the longer they have Naaririel, the less time he'll have to spend answering for his actions in hell. So really they're doing him a favour.

There's only one entrance to the abandoned factory but there's a few windows that Naaririel could escape through so Nico goes to the door and Kevin picks a window to break through just after Nico's distracted Naaririel. Nico rushes in without any hesitation, it's a lot of trust he's placed in Kevin but for whatever reason he does feel like he can trust him with his life.

"Who are yo-" Naaririel starts to speak, but he's startled by Kevin coming in through the window. Nico's surprised by just how quickly Kevin moves, one second the glass is breaking and the next he's got Naaririel pinned to the floor and is using cable tie handcuffs to bind his hands and feet. The only thought Nico has is to where Kevin got the handcuffs from but they must have come from Dan and Dany.

"I'll get the car," Nico says and he's almost smiling. Good guys, one, bad guys, nil. But it's far too early to start celebrating. Kevin drags Naaririel up and slings him over his shoulder. He's put in the boot of the car, it's not big but thankfully neither is he. They're not sure he could be trusted to sit in the back without attracting any unwanted attention.

The journey back to the flat is short but each thump from the boot sets Nico's heart racing, if they're pulled over there's no reasonable excuse that will justify having someone tied up in the boot. Also he's betting that Dan and Dany shouldn't be letting Kevin use police equipment but he's not sure if they're unique to the police. Once they're at the flat they're relieved to find out Marcus is home, which means him and Nico can stand guard while they unload Naaririel from the boot. The last thing they want is nosy neighbours calling the police on them.

Kevin quickly has Naaririel inside and secured to one of the chairs. Marcus starts to speak but Kevin knows what he's going to say and feeling guilty about this isn't going to help catch the demon. He needs Marcus fully focussed on this so he tells him what he needs to hear.

"I forgive you, you couldn't have known," Kevin says softly. He really means it too, he's not angry at Marcus, he's angry at Naaririel for betraying his own kind. He then turns to stare at Naaririel.

"How could you do this, betray us to a demon?" Kevin yells, although it's still very calm compared to how humans shout but he can hear the venom and anger in his voice.

Naaririel says nothing, they sit asking more and more questions but he never responds to any of them. After an hour they give up and Kevin goes back to researching how to kill Furfur while Nico goes to get everyone food, everyone except Naaririel that is. Marcus is sitting watching Naaririel closely, he feels so bad about this. He thought he could trust him and now he's endangered all of his friends. Marcus has been down here with Dan and Dany for so long that his soul feels numb at the thought of them not being around any more.

Dan and Dany return from their shift and when Dany sees Naaririel tied to the chair, his first response is to stride straight across to him and punch him in the face. Dan rushes to Dany's side but when he sees that he's not going to punch Naaririel again he relaxes. Marcus is smiling, it's made him feel a little better seeing him suffer, and Kevin's just looking on with admiration.

Nico picks this moment to enter with the food. He's awkwardly carrying four pizza boxes and two carrier bags filled with burgers and chips. Although having seen him eat yesterday most of the food is probably for himself, Kevin thinks. Dan goes to get plates and cups and they all settle around the sofa, Kevin clearing the books onto the floor so they don't get dirty. It would be sacrilege to damage such old books.

It's really quite pleasant, Nico thinks, this is how life should be, hanging out with friends, having a laugh, good food. It's almost perfect apart from the guy tied up in the kitchen and they're planning how to kill a demon before it kills them first.

Kevin watches Nico eat two pizzas, a burger and his own weight in chips. He's in awe of Nico's eating power, if he didn't have someone to remind him he'd be in danger of starving his human body to death. Kevin's about to speak, tell everyone that he's got a way to kill the demon when Nico starts licking his fingers clean and he's unable to look away, unable to speak, unable even to form coherent thoughts. He's never felt like this before, he's never been so distracted, so vulnerable and yet he feels amazing at the same time.

"I know how to kill Furfur," Kevin says, having dragged his mind back onto the task at hand. No-one actually gasps, but the sudden silence that descends is equally as shocking.

"He'll destroy you first," Naaririel says smugly. No-one had looked at Naaririel while they were eating, if he doesn't want to talk that's fine. They'd almost forgotten he was here.

Dany spares him the sarcastic _oh, so you're talking now?_ but asks him, "Why would you do this? Help a demon kill humans?"

"You really don't remember do you _Karael_?" Naaririel says slowly, he's enjoying having everyone's full attention. "All those years ago, you let me get dragged down to hell so you could banish a demon." There's so much pain in his voice that it's almost pitiful. "All so you could protect these pathetic humans," he shouts at Nico, the rage twisting his features so that he's almost unrecognisable.

"You were told not to get in the way, you know the mission comes first," Kevin says unapologetically, "It was either banish you both to hell or let the demon eat that baby."

"I spent three days in hell because of you! _Three days!_ " There are tears running down Naaririel's face. Kevin's seen hell, every time he banishes a demon he gets a glimpse of it, but he can't imagine what it would be like to be stuck there, not knowing if you'll ever get out. It's an unimaginable horror.

"So that's why you did this? You let humans die just to punish me?" Kevin's shaking his head in disgust. He's done a lot of questionable things but to let a human die is just unconscionable. "Whatever punishment they give you it won't be enough. You don't deserve your wings!" Kevin says coldly. He's about to lay into him when six angels burst through the door, they're the angel equivalent of police, they'll make sure Naaririel's punished for what he's done.

"Are you done with him?" the lead angel asks, and Kevin nods, he'll be grateful not to have to deal with punishing Naaririel himself. They suspiciously eye Nico but it's not their place to say anything, it's not the first time they've used humans to help them but it doesn't usually end well for them.

Nico watches as Naaririel's dragged out of the flat by six angels, wings on display. His confusion must show as Kevin simply says, "they can make themselves invisible to humans". And when Nico looks out the window to where they should exit the flat, he sees nothing.

 

With all the excitement over, the five of them get down to working out the details of Kevin's plan. "All I need to do is get him to consume an angel's soul," Kevin says bluntly, Dany's sarcasm seems to be rubbing off on him already.

"Can you transfer yours into the demon?" Nico asks, he's imagining Kevin's soul shooting out of him and then hitting the demon like a laser beam but he doubts it will be that simple.

"Not directly. Demons can only consume human souls," Kevin says.

"It's like trying to power a tv remote with a car battery,", Dany adds, "There's too much power so it just explodes." Dan looks at him with amusement but Dany just shrugs, he's not really sure how much of this Nico understands, but since he's involved he should know what he's getting into.

"He's been taking the souls from his victims because he can. They probably would have survived if he hadn't eaten their souls," Kevin says and he sounds sad at the needless loss of life. He's never been the reason that a human has been injured or killed before.

"So how do we get him to consume an angel's soul?" Dan asks, he just wants this all over with.

"I have to transfer my soul into a human," Kevin says ominously, "Who's willing to be beaten nearly to death so that when Furfur goes to eat their soul, it'll actually be the angel soul that he eats."

"We should have kept Naaririel, we could have used his soul," Nico says. He doesn't like the sound of Kevin having to give away his soul; surely he can't live without it? Is he really willing to die to kill this demon? But these increasingly panicky thoughts are interrupted by Kevin.

"You can't just take someone's soul, it has to be given and I seriously doubt that Naaririel would be willing to let a human take his soul," Kevin says. He wishes that was possible, it would be a fitting punishment to have his soul used to kill the very demon that he was helping.

"So we need a human that looks sort of like you and is willing to accept your soul," Dan says to Kevin, before looking directly at Nico and sighing. "It's really just a list of one, mate, are you up for it?"

The four angels are staring at Nico, waiting for a response, they know it's a lot to ask of an angel never mind a human but they don't have a lot of options left. Nico's fidgeting with his glasses and Kevin reaches out and takes Nico's hand before trying to reassure him, "you can say no, you do have free will but if you do this, we'll protect you no matter what". _I can't have another human's death on my conscience, I can't have_ your _death on my conscience_ , Kevin thinks.

"Ok. Let's do this," Nico says, and he sounds like man who's made peace with the idea of dying. It's heartbreaking for Kevin to hear, but worrying about Nico won't protect him, so he needs to focus and do this right.

Kevin grabs the old books and takes Nico's hand to lead him to the bedroom. Dany makes a funny remark about having to have sex to transfer the soul which causes Kevin to look panicked, which no-one has ever seen before, and Nico to blush. He doesn't really want to admit that since waking up in Kevin's wings this morning, that thought has crossed his mind a couple of times today.

Dan shoves Dany and takes him to watch the abandoned factory that Furfur's been using. They'll report back if he returns. It'll be easier to fight the demon there, less risk of any innocent humans being involved. If they do it here at the flat all their neighbours and any of the emergency services people who might get called out, are all in danger.

*****

Kevin's sitting on the bed and Nico's just staring at him. He should really be worrying about facing imminent death but he can't get his mind off how lovely Kevin's lips are or how soft his hands are or what it would feel like to have them touch him, stroke him, kiss him.

"We don't have to have sex," Kevin says, and he tries not to look disappointed. He's never had a chance to experience any of that, not even a kiss, and he's not going to have anymore chances after he destroys the demon. "A hug should do it but you have to want my soul, want me inside you," he says, which is met by a childish grin from Nico.

They end up lying on the bed. Nico completely surround by Kevin's wings and it's nice, amazing actually, the wings are gently caressing him and Kevin's head is nuzzled under his chin. He's never really trusted people, it comes with the job, always keeping people at arm's length but with Kevin it really feels right. And if they're both going to die today, well he doesn't want to die with any regrets.

Nico wraps his arms around Kevin and ducks down so that their faces are aligned. Kevin's watching him with fascination, he's seen the look of lust many times but never directed at him. He's so overwhelmed with new emotions that he closes his eyes and presses his lips to Nico's. It's so gentle and soft, lips stroking lips and he's just getting used to the sensation when Nico's tongue slowly licks into him, demanding entry, using his big hands to manoeuvre Kevin on top of him so that he's straddling his lap.

Kevin's never felt anything like this, the pure unyielding pleasure of being desired by another soul. It's so good to feel wanted rather than needed. He's achingly hard and he can't help but grind up against Nico, seeking more and more contact as Nico tries to pull his shirt off without unbuttoning it, resulting in his glasses getting caught up in the tangle of clothing. Kevin's wings deftly help Nico out of his shirt and set his glasses safely by the bed. Kevin's t-shirt is already pulled up where his wings have come out and he easily slips out of it allowing Nico to see all of his tattoos. Nico admires them appreciatively and starts kissing along each bit of inked skin, pausing to drag his tongue over each of Kevin's nipples and delighting in the moans of pleasure.

The kisses get more and more furious and Nico reaches down to free Kevin's straining erection and Kevin gasps as Nico's big hands wrap around him. It feels so good that he can't keep quiet; completely forgetting that Marcus has to listen to all of this. As the orgasm builds Kevin feels his soul fill with love for Nico and as he comes for the first time, savouring every sensation, he feels his soul rush into Nico.

Kevin goes limp with exhaustion; the orgasm and the soul transfer have drained him both physically and emotionally. Nico feels Kevin's soul fill him completely, it's like being touched everywhere simultaneously and it's so perfect that he comes without being touched, Kevin's wings draped over him like a giant comfort blanket.

They don't have the luxury of being able to sleep in each other's arms, now that Kevin's soul is transferred they should really join Dan and Dany at the factory and wait for Furfur to return. Nico shakes Kevin gently, he's worried that without his soul he'll not wake up, but Kevin grunts and moves slowly off Nico. Kevin gently puts Nico's glasses back on for him and then dives into the bathroom to clean up. He deliberately doesn't make eye contact with Marcus who is sitting flicking through the old books, although sharing a flat with Dan and Dany who are always all over each other must have desensitised him to all of the 'noises' .

When Kevin returns to the living room Marcus is talking to Nico, checking that he's alright, they're all in uncharted territory now. Hoping and praying that rumours and hearsay will work for them, that this will all work out ok.

After Marcus has checked in with Dan and Dany, they're hastily drawing 'tattoos' on Nico with a marker, just enough detail that they'll look convincing enough from a distance. He only has to pass for Kevin from a distance and then it's imperative to their plan that Furfur realises he's actually human.

As Nico's grabbing his car keys he asks, "So you can exist without a soul?"

"No. I had to take a little bit of your soul to keep me going," Kevin says apologetically. He should have told Nico what would happen but he got so wrapped up in all the kissing and touching that it slipped his mind. "I should have told you before, I'm sorry,"he adds.

"It's ok, I feel amazing," Nico says, giving Kevin a quick kiss. Marcus just rolls his eyes and heads for the door.

In the car Kevin goes over all the things Nico will have to say to Furfur to convince him that he's really Karael the demon hunter. Nico listens with fascination, as hard as he tries he just can't comprehend what it's like to be immortal, to have seen all of history. He wishes that he had more time with Kevin but he knows that this is the end, he'll go back to where ever he came from once the demon is dealt with.

When they pull up to the factory Dan and Dany are waiting for them on the side street.

"He's just gone into the building," Dany whispers, although they're far enough away that he doesn't need to. Dany looks directly at Nico and asks, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Nico says without hesitation. He knows that if he thinks about this anymore he'll only jeopardise the plan. From what he's seen of Kevin, he's ruthless, confident and fearless. If he shows any sign of weakness the demon will know it's a trap before he gets too close, and he needs to get close, start a fight with him. Before anyone can say anything else to him, he's striding towards the factory as the angels scurry around the building to cover as many exits as possible.

*****

Furfur's busy studying photos of the flat that Dan and Dany share, getting ready to confront Karael where he least expects it. He has no idea that Naaririel has disappeared and that the angels already know where he is. The last thing he expects is for his target to come to him. He watches in amusement as 'Kevin' walks into the factory and heads straight towards him, tattoos on display. Furfur smiles an evil grin, like a cat toying with a mouse, he's going to have some fun with Karael.

"I think you've been looking for me, Furfur," Nico says clearly and calmly. He still thinks Furfur's a silly name for a demon but the situation is so tense that he doesn't even think of laughing now.

"Are you ready to die, Karael?" Furfur asks, lingering on the word die. Nico had no idea that angels could die, although he doesn't really know a lot about angels but he has a sneaking suspicion that Kevin's deliberately left out a lot of information.

"If I die, I'm going to take you with me," Nico says with a shrug, he hopes it gives off an air of indifference, which seems to be Kevin's general attitude towards everything.

While they've been talking Nico's been edging ever closer to Furfur, there's less than two meters between them now, more than close enough to start a fight with him. He's just about to fly in and tackle him when Furfur throws some liquid over him, it stings a little but his glasses protect his eyes from the worst of it. However, when he doesn't really respond he can see the confusion on Furfur's face. Nico takes full advantage of this distraction and head butts Furfur, sending him flying back onto the floor, clutching his nose and howling like a small child.

Nico's on top of Furfur, punching him repeatedly, the cold flat sound of flesh hitting flesh over and over again. He makes the mistake of thinking, _this is not too bad, I've been in worse situations_ , when Furfur decides that he's going to kill the human that's attacking him. His small hand grabs at Nico's wrist and twists it suddenly causing Nico to cry out in pain and Furfur punches Nico hard in the face, breaking his glasses and his nose. As Nico scrabbles to see where Furfur is he feels a burning sensation over his heart, an insurmountable pain like Furfur's trying to tear his heart out through his ribs. Nico's paralysed with pain, unable even to scream as he fights to remain conscious, but he feels Kevin's soul inside him giving him strength and he manages to place his hand over Furfur's. The room is starting to spin, Nico's losing focus fast but he knows he has to do this for the man he loves, and with that thought he feels Kevin's soul being ripped from him, tearing out through his body. He hears a blood-curdling scream before he blacks out, and all he can do is hope that it was enough.

Kevin watches with anticipation, he's so proud of Nico and yet he's terrified for him at the same time. Once Furfur explodes into a cloud of ash he rushes in to get Nico, hoping that he'll be ok, that he'll live. Everything after that is a blur, Dan and Dany are carrying Nico to the car, rushing him to the hospital, doctors are fussing over him and then there's calm. Nico's stable but in intensive care, he's breathing on his own but he's taken a bad beating, he looks so broken and Kevin just feels so hopeless as he sits by his bed, tears silently falling down his face.

*****

Nico slowly wakes up and every single muscle in his body aches, but the sight of Kevin sleeping by his bedside spreads warm, fuzzy feelings throughout. He gently runs a hand through Kevin's hair and he stirs from his sleep.

"How do you feel?" Kevin asks sleepily, Nico guesses correctly that he won't have got much sleep or eaten properly.

"Did we get him?" Nico asks, he needs to know all of this pain was worth it. That it was for a reason.

"Yes, he's dust and ashes now," Kevin whispers, not sure who might be lurking in such a public place.

"Good," Nico says, he sounds relieved. From the way he looks now it's unlikely he'd survive a second round with the demon. "So when do you have to go home?" Nico asks, almost flinching as he says it, he wants to know but he's pretty sure he won't like the answer.

"There is no home for me now, I can't go back without my soul," Kevin says quietly, he knows he shouldn't be burdening Nico with this now, not in his condition but he wants him to understand, to know that he wouldn't leave him if he had a choice.

"So you can stay here, on Earth?" Nico says with a smile. It hurts him to smile but he's so happy that Kevin is staying.

"No, I have to give you your soul back and no body can exist without a soul", Kevin says sadly. "But you're a fighter, you'll survive without me," he mocks. Kevin doesn't want him to feel any worse about the situation but he knew that to destroy the demon meant certain death for him, he just never expected to feel this way about Nico when he made that choice.

"But…" Nico struggles for words, there has to be a way for him to stay, they can't have gone through all of this just for it to be the end. It's so unfair. What cruel fate could do this to them?

"It's ok, you'll be ok," Kevin mutters, although it's more for him than Nico. He goes to touch Nico's heart, return his soul, but Nico grabs his wrist.

"No."

Kevin looks puzzled but Nico doesn't let go of him. "No, I don't want the rest of my soul back, you can keep it," Nico shouts, and they're starting to get odd looks from some of the hospital staff.

"It doesn't work that way, you need all of your soul," Kevin says, tears gathering in his eyes.

"Says who, you said it yourself, it's all just rumours and hypotheses, no-one actually knows how this works, who says we can't share a soul?" Nico's screaming now and there are tiny alarms going off on the machines he's connected to. Kevin's ushered away by a nurse as a flurry of people swarm around him.

 

Marcus is sitting in the waiting area that Kevin's escorted to. Kevin cries on his shoulder, he's never cried before today and now he doesn't seem to know how to turn it off. Marcus gets the whole story between sobs and when he's finally calm he says earnestly, "If he wants to share his soul with you, then why not let him. You've got nothing to lose but everything to gain."

"But…" Kevin starts but he knows deep down in his soul, _Nico's soul_ , that he wants to be with him, no matter what. It's selfish but he's served humanity since they crawled out of the oceans, he deserves to be happy now and with that realisation he's running off down the corridor to find Nico.

 

"I love you," Kevin mumbles over and over again as he strokes the side of Nico's face. The doctors had to sedate him so that he didn't make his injuries worse. Kevin sits by his bed for the next two days until he's finally discharged from the hospital and the doctors are secretly relieved to be free of the two odd guys who keeping talking about angels and souls.

*****

Nico's lying wrapped in Kevin's wings, he'd assumed that if Kevin had given up his angel soul he'd lose his wings but he's glad that he's still got them. Not that he wouldn't love him without them but he's happy Kevin got to keep a little bit of his former self. Their shared soul binds them but it's not a burden, it's a gift. A magical gift. 

After they destroyed Furfur, Kevin decided to move in with Nico, which Marcus was thankful for, he's not sure he could take living with two couples. Dan and Dany closed the case on the 'serial killer' by claiming that he set himself on fire and all that was left was the ashes, it's amazing what humans will believe but at least the victims' families got closure. Nico got the exclusive story and then took a well earned rest, he told colleagues that he got mugged to explain all his injuries and again no-one really questioned it.

Dan and Dany sorted Kevin out with a job as a police officer, it's pretty much what he's used to doing. Nico and Kevin fall into an almost mundane routine but to Kevin it's wonderful, someone to curl up with a night, someone who cares about him, who makes sure he eats properly. They get to travel and Kevin takes Nico to some of the places on Earth he's been previously, telling him about the amazing things that he's seen that no historian has ever found evidence of.

Kevin's glad he made his peace with death as one day it's going to catch up with him, although hopefully not for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Original inspiration was this comment by madleane:  
> Mr. "I-am-a-tattooed-angel-that-has-fallen-from-heavens-to-make-this-Earth-a-better-place" Magnussen  
> Which is the best (and most accurate) description of Kevin I have ever heard!
> 
> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


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